Well pulled the codes for the first time since buying my 96. Guess I know what is second on my list after oil change, (funds permitting).
At least I know why it seemed doggy. Good news is no other codes.

 

directly out of the stickies... get a 470k ohm resistor from radio shack and sick it in the harness... then run premium ONLY... clear the code


0304
Diagnostic Trouble Code 0304 points to a problem with the Knock Sensor. The KS is attached to the cylinder block. It senses engine knocking using a piezoelectric element. A knocking vibration from the cylinder block is senses as vibrational pressure. This pressure is converted into a voltage signal and sent to the Engine Control Module (The computer).

This malfunction is detected when an excessively high or low voltage from the KS is entered to the ECM. Possible causes include...
- the harness or connector (The KS circuit is open or shorted).
- the KS

The KS may be checked with an ohmmeter.

1) Raise the hood. View the engine from the driver's fender. Look into
the deep valley between the cylinder banks and below the intake manifold.
Identify the KS as a black item fastened to the block by a single vertical
bolt. A wire harness wrapped in black leads toward you, out of the valley.
That is the KS sub-harness.

2) Follow the KS sub-harness to it's nearest connector. This is connector F121.
It is located near the upper right-hand corner of the valve cover of the forward cylinder bank, as viewed from the front of the car.

3) Disconnect F121. You have to do a "press the latch and wiggle and
pull" to disconnect it. F121 has only two pins; if you see more than two
pins, you have the wrong connector. Use a digital ohmmeter capable of
measuring more than 10 Megohms. You want to measure the pins of F121, not
the sockets of the matching connector. Measure the resistance between a
good ground (such as the battery negative terminal) and pin #2 of connector
F121. On my car this is the highest of the two pins, the one closest to
the front of the car. The factory spec is 500 - 620 Kohms.

The manual says you have to remove the intake manifold to replace the KS. However, I think that a person with good dexterity and a 12mm ratcheting box wrench could replace the KS without disturbing the manifold.

Important note: the dealer can do a more thorough test with his CONSULT electronic tester. The resistance test described here is a useful but limited test. A Knock Sensor which fails this test is definitely bad. However, a KS which passes this test is not guaranteed to be good.

 

Did you have a question for us, or are you just letting us know you've got a KS code?

 

Already read, thank you. Just trying to start conversation.
I can only afford cheap stuff (fuel) at this point in my life. I'll be getting an FEE-bay KS and changing it out. It doesn't knock the least bit right now so I'm sure it'll run fine on reg, albeit a little slower than super/premium.

 

Cheap fuel? Man....

18 gallons of 93 in chicago cost $50
18 gallons of 87 in chicago cost $47


you are saving $3 by cheaping out but at the same time you are using more gas than you would with premium..

If you wanna be cheap get the resistor form radio shack for 2 bucks...

 

Yea its crazy when people think that there is a huge price difference in premium. Also why would you run less than premium when in the manual it says to use 91.

 

Ok youve all convinced me,. Ill do the resistor. Could someone post a link to said stickie? Is there a how to? Im at work and pooter time is limited, I searched a bit but...

 

Changed the oil today and did the resistor mod, thing is i filled up on regular 2 days ago. How likely is it I'll ping? If I have issues with pinging I'll definitely run with the premium.
Cleared the 0304 code and ran in the driveway, didn't comeback. I'll drive it tomorrow and see how she sounds/feels.

 

well it might.. but just run premium on it and it will be fine...

 

Yup, light pinging when I bury the pedal. That means two things, 1 The resistor is working and I have my timing back. 2 I will have to run Premium.